{"id":15144,"date":"2024-12-04T13:20:23","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T13:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=15144"},"modified":"2024-12-04T13:20:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T13:20:23","slug":"the-soto-score-how-signing-mlbs-no-1-free-agent-would-shift-his-suitors-fortunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=15144","title":{"rendered":"The Soto Score: How signing MLB’s No. 1 free agent would shift his suitors’ fortunes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"The<\/p>\n

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EXCLUSIVE CONTENT<\/p>\n

Get ESPN+<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/header>\n
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\"The<\/picture><\/div>
Juan Soto would make any team better (including Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s Blue Jays). But exactly how much better varies. We put a number on it.\u00a0Jim McIsaac\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  • \"The\n

    Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff WriterDec 4, 2024, 07:00 AM ET<\/p>\n

    \n

    Close<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Sports reporter, Kansas City Star, 2002-09<\/li>\n
    • Writer, Baseball, Baseball Prospectus<\/li>\n
    • Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus<\/li>\n
    • Member, Baseball Writers Association of America<\/li>\n
    • Member, Professional Basketball Writers Association<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

      The Juan Soto chase appears to be nearing a conclusion. As the offseason’s biggest domino wobbles, it’s a good time to illustrate what’s at stake when it falls.<\/p>\n

      From a pure baseball standpoint, Soto’s pending decision should capture the interest of all 30 teams. News flash: Soto is really good. He’s also still only 26 and the team that lands him should get to watch him continue to build on a first-ballot Hall of Fame career for the next decade or more.<\/p>\n

      That makes one interpretation of his impact blatantly obvious: If you sign Soto, he makes you better. If you don’t, you aren’t going to be as good as you would have been if you did.<\/p>\n

      We know Soto will make any team that signs him better by around five wins, all things being equal. That number varies somewhat, but that’s a good thumbnail number — the difference between Soto and whatever player his acquisition would push down the depth chart.<\/p>\n

      Not every team can afford to pursue him though, and the competitive context for each team that can is different. This is what we want to focus on today — competitive context. Those five wins matter more, and in different ways, depending on which suitor we’re talking about.<\/p>\n

      So let’s talk about some of those suitors. The rumor mill has given us five leading possibilities — teams believed to have already forwarded offers to Soto and superagent Scott Boras. Those are the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

      To that quintet, we’ll add three teams:<\/p>\n

      \u2022 The Phillies, just because you never know when Dave Dombrowski will swoop in.<\/p>\n

      \u2022 The Giants, because they typify teams that should arguably be more aggressive in the Soto market (and others) but haven’t shown much indication that is going to happen.<\/p>\n

      \u2022 The Royals, who were briefly attached to Soto very early in the process for, reportedly, making a call about him. But the Royals typify the kind of midlevel team in a not-large market that might get an outsized gain from a splash like this. It won’t happen, but it’s illustrative to see how much of an impact a player of Soto’s value could have on clubs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Juan Soto would make any team better. But exactly how much better varies. 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